1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to coolers, such as insulated, portable, molded coolers with insulated walls, bottom and top, or to insulated containers having a removable top. More particularly, this invention relates to a readily attachable and detachable top for such coolers or containers to permit easy replacement of a top with another having a sports logo for a team of choice. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a readily removable and attachable attachment for a cooler top or side to display a team or sports logo of choice.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sports teams of most sports have a team logo or name by which they are identified, often fanatically, by fans of the sport or the team. Thus, it is well known to identify with the college entertainment services provided by the University of Arkansas “RAZORBACKS” or the University of Florida “GATORS” football teams, and with professional football entertainment services provided by the Dallas “COWBOYS” and Tennessee “TITANS” football teams, by way of example. Moreover, some sports fans may schedule a local college football game to attend on a Saturday afternoon, and a professional football game at another accessible location on a Sunday afternoon, again by way of example. Cross attendance of one sport, such as football, with another, such as baseball, is also popular and possible.
Use of and licensing of team logos for fan identification is an immensely large business in the United States and worldwide. The name and logo of a particular team may appear on such items as jackets, jerseys, tee-shirts, socks and virtually every item of clothing, school pamphlets and booklets, and on other items of interest to the avid sports fan. Such items are very suitable for personal purchase or for birthday, anniversary and holiday-gift giving as a result of excellent multi-media marketing by leagues and individual teams. Posters and labels, with a suitable adhesive such as a permanent glue, are often used to be attached to another item to show allegiance to or support for a team of interest. License plates and license plate holders, in addition to decals, often display a team of popularity and interest.
On the other hand, insulated devices such containers or coolers are popular for sports fans. Containers or coolers for food and beverages can assume a wide variety of forms. One popular container design is a generally cylindrical type of fluid-tight container, having a removable top which is rotatably secured or removed from the container. One particularly popular cooler design is an insulated chest-shaped cooler with an insulated top, an insulated bottom, and pairs of opposed of insulated sides, in which the top may or may not be permanently attached to the bottom/sides arrangement. Such cooler chests may or may not have handles, either external or recessed, for transporting the coolers from one location to another. Another type of popular insulated container is a vacuum or THERMOS brand bottle having a vacuum, insulated portion and a top, such as a rotatable screw-on cap.
Sports fans bringing such containers or coolers to sports events of interest have insisted upon having an identification with their teams of choice. A simple but convenient way of showing team support or allegiance is by a decal attached to the container or cooler. Such decals, whether permanently a part of the food or beverage container or cooler, are in the form of planar labels, but are rarely easily removable. Thus, it is difficult, without attaching several planar decals or labels to the top or sides of the cooler chest or other container, to show multiple team allegiance with a single multi-use container or cooler.
Sports cooler tops may also have a three dimensional character, as representatively shown in Design Patents Nos. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 369,524, showing a baseball hat cooler; U.S. Pat. No. Des. U.S. 369,946, showing a football helmet cooler, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 378,562, showing a top having a portion of a baseball, or a football, or a golf ball, thus to identify the cooler with a sport of interest. All three of these design patents show a sports-related item with three-dimensional characteristics on the top of the cooler, while U.S. Pat. No. Des. 386,649 shows a non-sports example of an upraised cooler top design. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 349,630 shows an ornamental design for a styrofoam ice chest where the sides of the cooler are together formed in the shape of a football helmet.
Heretofore, modifications to the planar top, or to the sides, for identification or allegiance to multiple sports or teams has not been considered for a single container or cooler, whether made from styrofoam or according to the more traditional insulated cooler. Thus, it is an aim of the invention to provide a number of alternative solutions to present a single cooler or container with a set of two or more readily exchangeable tops or sides, each representing a different team of interest, whether local, collegiate, or professional and differing sports, such as basketball or baseball or football.